Sploosh - blub - dagnammit!

[MossRoad]

No, I didn't play submarine with my Kubota unlike my neighbor (whose tractor refuses to die despite it).

Since I am not able to hold a full five gallon container of diesel at arm's length in order to fuel my (no longer overheating) B2601, I've been using a hand operated pump with a short 12" discharge hose on it. The fuel container goes on the floor in front of the seat, the discharge hose goes in the tank, and a few minutes of operation fills the tank. So far so good.

The discharge hose slipped off the end of the pump and guess where it decided to take up residence? Sploosh - blub. It is now down in the tank, somewhere.

Flashlight showed nothing - it is a black hole. Ran the tractor for a while to lower the fuel level, tried again, couldn't see a thing. I have a "gripper", has a button on the top, semi-flexible, four wire fingers come out the bottom, release the button slowly and the fingers are supposed to grab things.

Can't find a dang thing . . . I know it is in there somewhere, I watched it disappear (probably snickering at me as it went).

Plan A: Ignore it - the hose isn't fuel soluble anyway, and it doesn't seem to be hurting anything. Not a good idea, and I don't like ignoring things like that.

Plan B: Drain the tank, try again with the gripper and some more imaginative profanity than "dagnammit".

Plan C: Call Ahhnold to come pick the tractor up, turn it upside down and shake it. He might be available now that he isn't the Governator of California any more.

Probably by far the best plan: Ask the crew here on TBN for suggestions!!!!

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida

You could get one of these battery operated fuel pumps for under $15 and drain the tank down pretty far into cans.

Is there a water/fuel separator on that machine? If so, you could open that and drain the tank the rest of the way down into cans as well.

Then you might be able to see into the tank bottom and see the hose laying there.

Can you "stick" the tank to see how deep it is? That might give you an idea of how long of a reaching tool you'd need.

 

[MossRoad]

Battery-Operated Liquid Transfer Pump

Amazing deals on this Transfer Pump Battery Operated at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[MossRoad]

Here's a 62" reaching tool from Walmart...

Robot or human?

www.walmart.com

62 inch Flexible Grabber Reacher Tool,Toilet Snake,Drain Clog Remover Retractable Claw Retriever Stick with Drain Hair Catcher for Shower, Bathtub, Sink, Bathroom and Toilet by​

 

[CalG]

OK, so far the recommendation is a skinny child proctologist with very long arms and small hands whose parents/guardians/parole officer won't care if said child comes home stinking of diesel fuel. And the kid has to be proficient at cleaning out culverts (got three of those that need attention) and picking fruit while balancing on a raised tractor bucket. (Should I put some padding on the Pirhana tooth bar on the bucket or does the munchkin have Kevlar skin?)

I had no idea that 12" of plastic fuel hose could cause so much trouble!

I have two places to be tomorrow, I'll see if I can rustle up this kid tomorrow evening. Stay tuned ;-)

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida

(Whose current residence address, according to FEMA, is a PO Box, but that's another story. I kinda think the window clerk would be upset if I tried to get my tractor into that box.)

The only trouble that length of hose is going to cause is in your mind.

Unless you selected a paper mache' hose material.

Run the tractor untill the fuel level indicator shows E, (but don't run it out or you will need to do the bleed routine)

With the aid of a bright flash light, LOOK in the filler hole for the tube.
Fish it out with the grabber.

It's not rocket surgery!

 

[airbiscuit]

Or, get a rocket surgeon to do it.

 

[MossRoad]

Or, get a rocket surgeon to do it.

Googled 'rocket surgeon' just for laughs... here's the AI suggestion...

A type of surgeon
A rocket surgeon is a highly intellectual and procedural medical professional who performs surgery on humans and other living beings while aboard rockets, as well as on the rocket itself. They are considered to be at the top of their field, with academic rocket surgeons earning an average salary of $420,000 and private practice rocket surgeons earning an average of $690,000.

 

[Eagle1]

Googled 'rocket surgeon' just for laughs... here's the AI suggestion...

A type of surgeon
A rocket surgeon is a highly intellectual and procedural medical professional who performs surgery on humans and other living beings while aboard rockets, as well as on the rocket itself. They are considered to be at the top of their field, with academic rocket surgeons earning an average salary of $420,000 and private practice rocket surgeons earning an average of $690,000.

Posting this one for Gator he likes AI to fact check

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I feel your pain!! I was filling hydraulic fluid into my branson and had a hose on the end of my funnel. The hose fell into the rear housing of the tractor. Yep, I almost pooped my pants. I was able to use a LONG forceps to finally grab it an pull it out. It was touch and go for a minute there. It took me a while to finally find it and grab it.

But yeah, I agree with @CalG. That hose isn't going to harm anything in your case. I guess your tractor doesn't have one of those fuel screen in the mouth of the tank to catch little things that want to get in there.

 

[sunandsand]

Going fishing later this evening - wish me luck.

I have it on good authority, and also with plenty of evidence that AI does NOT stand for "artificial intelligence" but rather "absolute idiocy".

I'm getting ready to leave a bank I've done business with for 20+ years because they now have a AI with the cutesy name of "Jamie" who I have to beat my way past every time I call - takes 10 to 15 minutes to get to a real live human who can answer even the simplest question.

Rocket surgeons of the world unite!

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida

 

[sunandsand]

Got it.

I bought a "Tactical Flashlight" at the flea market a couple of months ago "Dunno what's wrong with it, woudja gimme 50 cents?" Turned out it only needed to be recharged through a special connector which I just happened to have.

Is it bright? Oh yeah, it is blister-the-paint bright. More important, it is too large to fall down inside the fuel tank, yes, I checked. (I learn, sometimes a bit slowly, but I do learn.)

Took a look, and located the errant fuel hose - it floats. Checked the gripper on another length of the same hose, it isn't quite big enough to grab the hose, which is probably why I had such problems with trying to use it.

Made a hook out of welding rod, dipped it into the tank, snagged and carefully lifted the hose to the filler neck, being careful not to touch or bend the fuel gauge float or arm.

Got the hose to the filler neck, and it did NOT want to come out. The gripper would not have been able to hold onto it, but a firm pull on the welding rod folded the hose in half and it came up through the neck.

Grabbed it with a pair of strong long-nose pliers (which I also checked wouldn't fit down through the filler neck) and pulled it out.

Victory. Not a big victory to be sure, but one fewer thing to worry about - Lord knows I have enough on my plate right now, and don't we all!

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida